ENSO index teleconnection with seasonal precipitation in a temperate ecosystem of northern Mexico

Abstract

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the most important large-scale circulatory phenomenon that causesclimatic variability in northern Mexico. The current challenge is to understand its consequences for both localclimate and ecological processes of ecosystems. Within this context, we compared the degree of association ofthree different ENSO indices with local seasonal precipitation (P) in northern Mexico, and used dendrochronologicalseries (tree-ring chronologies [TRI]) of Pinus cooperi to assess the impact of forest growth. The resultsshowed a strong association between ENSO, previous winter precipitation and TRI (r > 0.5, p = 0.05), indicatinga positive relationship between warm ENSO phases and subsequent tree growth. The multivariate ENSO indexwas slightly better at explaining the connection between P and radial growth than other indices. These resultscould be used to support further research on the effects of ENSO on local climate and forest ecosystems.